No Chill + Ag = High Ibu

[HoppingMad]

From my experience of brewing from Recipe DB here (Dr Smurtos included) I think you'll find that most recipes put in waaay more hops than you'd ever taste in a commercial. So if you're trying to compare the JS Golden Ale directly to Dr Smurtos - don't. The Dr's recipe is always going to be a much bigger beer hop-wise and the JSGA will taste watery in comparison. That's why you're being blown away by the big hops - it's just not what you're used to.

I have read from the Little Creatures Brewery that their LCPA is around 36IBU, but I drink it and it tastes nothing like a 36IBU beer I would make. Commercials tend to be more watery and subdued by their very nature compared to Homebrew AG. Part of the reason is because commercials are pasteurised and by this process you dull off the big flavours - but it keeps better for longer than ours do. Do a brewery tour and ask to try one of their unpasteurised beers if you get the chance and you'll see what I mean - they're always much bigger. I tried an unpasteurised Alpha Pale from Matilda Bay recently and it blew me away - tasted just like one of our homebrews it was that big in malt & hop.

You also have to realise that most of the people on AHB prefer these 'big' malt & hop characteristics they create at home. This is where their palates are I reckon. Most of the recipes here are not setting out to copy directly the commercials, but blaze a new trail and even the clones will be larger than the original. The only exception I can think of on Recipe DB would be recipes like AndrewQLD's Aussie Ale which is pretty spot-on for a Coopers, and could sit side-by-side the commercial comfortably.

So if you're wanting something closer to JSGA, Take the Dr's recipe for the malt bill but realise the commercial JSGA is not actually bittered with amarillo, just finished with it and would have a much lower IBU. Use low amount of POR or Super Alpha instead as your bittering hop and finish with Amarillo, and you will get closer to the real deal. From previous threads I believe Super Alpha is the hop that the real JSGA uses - from memory it is a NZ bittering hop. Happy to be corrected on this. Cheers, and all the best with your next batch.

Hopper.

 

[cdbrown]

All my AG brews are no chill and have noticed that some are slightly more bitter than I originally expected - although not having done a chill before I had nothing to compare it against. But the theories behind the late additions adding some slight bitterness and less flavour/aroma makes sense and is what I'm tasting. Once I get brewing again I'll still be NC but will change the late hop schedule to include hoping in the cube.

 

[argon]

I exclusively No chill and have found the method of reducing my additions by 20mins in Summer and 15mins in Winter work quite well. (20mins in summer, cause the wort takes longer to cool down, whereas Winter its a bit quicker) Essentially I add the 20/15min addition straight into the cube. I only do this because I perceive that my calculations done in Beersmith tend to match when I use the same amount of hops at 20/15mins less.

Also, just removing the hops from the boil at flameout, if using a hopsock or whatever, is not going to stop utilization and bitterness increase. Essential oils and compounds have been broken down into the wort and will continue to be effected by the hot wort, until it reaches such a temp that utilization ceases. Just removing the actual hop matter wont stop utilization in its tracks. There is a fair bit of conjecture as to when this utilization significantly decreases. I have read some say that the utilization significantly decreases around 70C or so. This supports what some have been doing and, part chilling, where theres still enough heat to pasteurize the cube, but not enough heat to increase bitterness by a significantly perceptible level.

No Chilling and reducing hop addition times, however, limit my ability to do late aroma additions but I have been experimenting with French pressing and dry hopping to get some more aroma. Been successful on both fronts but each give a slightly different profile. Only experimentation and tasting can tell you what you prefer.

I dont subscribe to the theory that No Chilling adds a set amount of IBU to a batch. It all depends on a number of factors, most notably the AA of any given hop. Eg a Saaz addition at 15mins is not going to be the same as a Super Alpha addition at 15mins, so no chilling will have a greater bitterness effect on the higher AA addition of course.

This is why I find a reduction in time does help and 15mins at this time of year has been proving pretty successful.

Probably the biggest condition that has an effect on perceived bitterness is the amount of time conditioning. I reckon a minimum of 4-5 weeks in keg for hop driven beers is about right for my batches to hit their straps. I fine and filter my beers, so theoretically I could drink them same day I keg but a bit of patience is a key factor in improving the quality of all my beers. Thats where I think the OP will see an improvement just wait it out and time will heal all wounds just get brewing and make something else for the meantime.

 

[manticle]

I reckon dry hop a recipe that will benefit from what dry hopping brings and leave alone the ones that don't. works with some beers, out of place in others. Also watch the amounts. I've heard 10g per litre can be a good rule of thumb. My recent case swapper beer probably pushes that rule closer to 15-20g per Litre but first tastes suggest it works.

AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

I mean 1g/L and 1.5-2g/L respectively.

 

[argon]

AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

I mean 1g/L and 1.5-2g/L respectively.

I picked that up when I read that the first time... Knew what you meant.. Or you were a massive hop head :beerbang: